INTRODUCTION. 7 



advantnge of calling in better judgment than my 

 own when it w^as at hand, and completed my in- 

 variable resolve of keeping out of my stables — that 

 positive pest — the common soi-disant horse doctor. 

 The remarks I make, therefore, on such subjects 

 are intended to induce the reader to do the same, 

 by showing, to the best of my judgment, what ail- 

 ments are of small importance, and what are of 

 serious import. If he finds (supposing my know- 

 ledge of such matters to be correct) that his horse 

 has only a trifling ailment, he will do wisely by 

 letting it alone, in preference to calling in any em- 

 piric ; if it is one of a serious nature, let him not 

 hesitate to get the very best professional assistance 

 that is to be procured. What I say, therefore, is 

 solely to guide his judgment in deciding which 

 course to pursue ; for if he takes the middle one, 

 by getting horse-doctor advice, he will find that 

 the old adage " In medio tutissimus ibis " will be 

 the very worst : the import of the disease will 

 not onlv be exas^o^erated, but the disease itself 

 will, in most cases, be aggravated by improper 

 treatment. 



Relative to certain tricks, and w^hat are termed 

 vices, in horses, I enumerate the ordinary ones, 

 and their consequences, that the purchaser may 

 be enabled to decide as to whether they are such 

 as to him may not be quite objectionable, or whether 

 they are such as would render the intended pur- 



B 4 



